A report from Bloomberg on Canada. "Household debt in Canada has reached levels that could be qualified as excessive. Canadians owe C$2.16 trillion—which, as a share of gross domestic product, is the highest debt load in the Group of Seven economies. With the housing market cooling, a reckoning may be fast approaching. People are 'freaking out,' even though, with interest rates not far above historical lows, 'money still costs nothing,' says Scott Terrio, a Toronto-based manager at Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc., a company that specializes in insolvency."

"Much depends on what happens to housing prices, particularly in Canada’s largest city. John Pasalis, president of Toronto property brokerage Realosophy Realty, says one potential trouble spot is the city’s condo sector, where many buyers who snapped up pre-construction units paid well above current resale prices. If the job market wobbles and prices for condos start to fall, people could start walking away from their contracts, Pasalis says. 'Then we have problems.'"

"Another pocket of vulnerability is Helocs, short for home equity lines of credit. In Canada, borrowing through Helocs has grown faster than residential mortgages since 2017 and stood at C$243 billion in October, or 11.3 percent of total household debt, according to DBRS Ltd. The credit rating agency warned in February that if real estate prices fall, homeowners may find themselves with debt loads that exceed the value of their homes."

From Teesside Live in the UK. "Teesside Live readers have had their say after Bellway Homes applied to alter their Roseberry Manor estate to include smaller and more affordable three-bedrooom houses due to sluggish sales. And while people say they 'feel sorry' for home-owners who could potentially find themselves in negative equity as house values drop, others say they have less sympathy and it's 'economics, simple supply and demand.'"

"Another added: 'Lost all sympathy as soon as they said they were mortgaged to the hilt.' Another added: 'An area that needed that bypass overlooked for greedy developers and yet another one of many poor council decisions, sorry but Karma's a bitch.' While another Nunthorpe resident added: 'I hope this sends a message to the councils eager to approve such developments in Nunthorpe - with often overpriced housing - and think about what’s actually needed across the area rather than just council tax in the coffers.'"

The South China Morning Post. "Home sales at Hong Kong property developer Chinachem Group’s Sol City development in Yuen Long got off to a slow start on Tuesday, and only a fifth of the 148 units on offer were sold. The lacklustre sales, which started at 6pm local time, added to evidence that a correction in Hong Kong’s property market is far from over."

"'Quite a big number of people showed up, but many of them were interested only in small units,' said Sammy Po Siu-ming, the chief executive of Midland Realty’s residential division, the project’s sales agent. 'The number of sales was not big, but it was not a surprise either.'"

"Hong Kong developers have been reducing prices to woo homebuyers amid an acceleration in launches of new flats on the market. Four projects with 607 units were offered for sale in Lohas Park, To Kwa Wan, Yau Tong and West Kowloon last weekend, the biggest weekend launch in a year."

"Home prices in Hong Kong, the world’s most expensive housing market, plunged by 9.2 per cent between a peak in July last year and December, according to the city’s Rating and Valuation Department."

From the West Australian. "Conditions in Perth’s property market already favour first-homebuyers, and they could become more favourable if home owners are gripped by another bout of fear of not getting out (FONGO). Perth’s property values have had the longest and deepest declines since the 1980s, with prices falling 17.8 per cent since peaking in June 2014, and experts are unsure if the market has reached its bottom."

"'The rental vacancy rate in Perth is now declining, which is putting upward pressure on rents, whereas in Sydney it’s still going the other way,' said AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver. 'But Perth has had a few periods of false hope where it looks like the market’s bottoming out several times, and then it starts coming down again, so another round of FONGO takes over and homeowners say, 'Oh I better get out.'"

"Luke Whelan and fiancee Rachel Mackin Brown wanted to upgrade their first home, but after six months, FONGO lingers. They paid in the low to mid $600,000 range for the two-bedroom townhouse in 2015 and are seeking the same price. 'For now, we’re not willing to drop (the price),' Mr Whelan said. “We’ll look at it again in six to 12 to 18 months.'"

From News.com.au in Australia. "Just a couple of years ago Australia couldn’t get enough tradies and builders and house prices were soaring. Now the story has turned around and it’s bad news for everyone. BIS Economics housing expert Angie Zigomanis said builders were already cuttings costs and laying off people."

"Nerida Conisbee, Chief Economist at REA said the worst will come in the next six months, in what could prove to be the deepest construction employment downturn since the GFC. 'It wasn’t just hitting people on the ground building stuff it also hits town planners, real estate agents, listed property companies, there’s a wide range of flow on impacts.'"

"A good sign of how bad it’s all getting is an index of secondary sales of houses, land, or options to buy on resales site Gumtree. Recent figures show prices across the majority of areas have fallen, with many owners dialling down their prices as their lots fail to sell, according to managing director of housing developers PEET, Brendan Gore."

"He said sales on sites like Gumtree were signs land speculators were attempted to avoid costs that come with real estate agents while exiting the market. 'People are adjusting their prices downward regularly because they’re struggling to move them.'"